2 neighboring breweries connect with Asheville beer fans

Sep. 22, 2010

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With nine breweries in Buncombe County, we've probably maxed out in building new ones here. But there's still room for good beer here.

Two regional breweries are really making marks in and around Asheville, winning fans and landing accounts. Both RJ Rockers, of Spartanburg, S.C., and Nantahala Brewing, of Bryson City, were at the Brewgrass craft beer celebration last weekend. And judging from the long lines outside their stands, they're doing something right.

Suds from Spartanburg

RJ Rockers has long established itself in South Carolina. But breaking through here is tough. Local restaurants, pubs and markets are often reluctant to take on a new brand when other beers are already working.

But now Rockers has strong distribution from Budweiser of Asheville, which is fast growing its portfolio of craft beers. Rockers can be found many places here, both on draft and in bottles, said brewery founder Mark Johnsen.

“We've been trying to get into Asheville for years,” he said. “It's the Mecca of beer on the Eastern Seaboard,'' he said.

Rockers is known for such beers as Patriot Pale Ale, and its seasonal Son of a Peach, made with South Carolina peaches. A final 2010 batch is now in the tanks.

Rockers has also made a tasty dunkeweisen called Buckwheat After Dark. Also watch for its Black Perle Dark IPA and First Snow Ale spicy winter pale ale. If you're headed to Spartanburg, stop by the separately owned and operated tap room at 226 W. Main St. downtown.

Brew in Bryson City

A tad closer to home, the draft-only Nantahala Brewing Co. is going strong up in Bryson City. That's a booming tourist destination thanks to the Nantahala River and the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, and “we are pretty much the launching point” for the Great Smoky Mountains Park, said spokesman Joe Rowland.

That means there's a big thirst to be quenched, and Nantahala is doing that with such beers as IPA, brown ale, pale ale, pilsner and more recently an Oktoberfest. It began making beer on the current system earlier this year.

Nantahala is a production facility, in a 12,000-square-foot former Quonset hut on Depot Street, just across from the railroad. Its beers are “everywhere we can” get them, from Murphy down to Greenville, S.C., and into Asheville at such places as the popular 12 Bones barbecue eateries, Pack's Tavern and Mellow Mushroom.

An invitation to join the Asheville Brewers Alliance was a big boost, Rowland said.

This was Nantahala's first time at Brewgrass. But it won't be its last. We're expecting it to be a major player around here.